Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

“Pure White Domain. In the Pure White Domain, isn’t there a towering peak made entirely of diamond, the World Pillar that held up the sky so it would not collapse? To climb it would take a year, to walk around it would also take a year. Every hundred years, a sparrow-sized two-headed bird would come and grind its beak against it twice before flying away. When this diamond mountain was finally worn down to flat ground, the pillar would collapse, the heavens would fall, and the very first second of eternity would be gone.”

Nora rarely showed a smile, but now there was a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

“You actually remembered that quite well.”

That was what Nora had once told Hughes, to warn him of the dreadful nature of an extraordinary curse.

Times had changed. Nora now had nothing left but her head, yet she still could not die. This was indeed proof of the enormous price of immortality—or rather, of extraordinary power.

But there was no going back to the past.

Hughes sounded a little discouraged.

“Isn’t this just a legend? Besides, in the book my… friend read, the person’s position was most likely in the Storm Ocean. Wouldn’t the White Calamity appear in the Storm Ocean?”

Nora stayed silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

“If the White Calamity really appeared in the Storm Ocean, then it would be nothing less than a catastrophe. The White Calamity cannot be resisted—the White Raven Principality was destroyed because of it. If it really devoured the Storm Ocean…”

Hughes licked his lips, startled by the possibility.

“Forget it, let’s not dwell on that. I’ll have my friend search the books again. Can you tell me more details about the Resistance Army?”

As for the matter of the inhabited shells, Hughes planned to investigate further later. Judging from now, even the Silent Sanctum, who understood the White Calamity best, knew very little about it. This white mist was truly strange and mysterious.

Compared to the faraway White Calamity, the matter of the Resistance Army was more immediate. Hughes had originally planned to send Granny to investigate, but the waters of the Northlands proved unexpectedly deep. The second batch of airships and ships had to take a huge detour just to get through. Hughes decided to first gain details from Nora.

“I’ve already told you most of what I know about the Resistance Army. Did something happen?” After speaking, Nora froze, suddenly realizing something. Her voice began to tremble.

“You’ve been dragging me to the test field to see the Dragon’s Breath Cannon every day… don’t tell me you’re testing it from the Northlands side?”

Hughes swallowed hard, his mind racing to find a way to calm the soon-to-erupt Nora.

But Nora quickly calmed herself. Her expression dimmed slightly.

“Go ahead and ask. If it can help those poor souls, I won’t hide anything.”

Although Nora did not believe the Resistance Army could survive, she was willing to contribute what she could.

So she carefully recalled every detail, while Hughes quietly recorded with his pen.

Unfortunately, the more he learned, the heavier Hughes’s sighs became.

From its organization to its population structure, the Resistance Army seemed unlikely to last.

First of all, their militarization was not thorough.

These people were originally just refugees from the Northlands. Nora only did some basic work divisions and did not assign everyone into groups for militarized management. Partly because their numbers were large and thus difficult to manage, but also because there were many elderly, women, and children among them.

If they had a base to occupy, perhaps they could show strengths in development. But as things stood, the Northlands’ environment was perilous, and with Nora absent, they most likely had no chance at stable growth.

Secondly, the Resistance Army were outsiders, making it difficult for them to receive reinforcements in the Northlands.

Though to Castel it was all considered the Northlands, most of the Resistance Army came from the White Raven Principality, primarily made up of White Raven people with white hair and white eyes. The commonfolk of the Four Northern Territories, however, were mostly Highlanders, with pale golden hair and brows—Alexei being the typical Northern appearance.

Even within the Northlands, there were divisions.

Beyond ethnic differences, faith was the greater issue. The White Ravens were believers of the Silent Sanctum, and the White Raven Principality itself was a theocracy. In contrast, the Northlands were governed by the Candlelight Emblem, and the Canary Mountains formed the boundary separating the two sides.

By Hughes’s estimation, the Resistance Army would find it extremely difficult to gain support in the Northlands.

War was fought through logistics and supplies. Without support, they were nothing more than a candle flickering in the wind.

Though she did not voice it, Nora faintly sensed Hughes’s thoughts, and her expression grew dimmer.

“That’s the main situation. Although the chances are slim, Gwen might be able to find them a way out.”

Hughes’s pen froze.

He slowly lifted his head and stared at Nora.

“You just said… Gwen?”

“Yes. After I die, she should take over the Resistance Army.”

“Tell me more about this Gwen.”

Nora looked slightly puzzled, but she nodded.

“No problem.”

“I was originally just a farmer’s daughter. As a child, maybe I had a brief time of happiness. But that was far too long ago, and I can’t remember clearly.”

Gwen held a twig and absentmindedly scratched the ground with it.

“Later, war came. My parents went out to find food and never returned. Fortunately, they had left me a fair amount of food, so I stayed in the house for a long time.”

“You stayed there until the food ran out?” Isaac asked with curiosity.

“Of course not. When I saw the food running out, I stuffed the last few cakes into my clothes and ran out. I drifted from place to place and eventually arrived here.” Gwen shrugged. “Boring story, isn’t it?”

Isaac thought for a moment before speaking.

“That must have been during the war between the Empire and the White Raven Principality, right?”

The Empire and the White Ravens had only fought once. After discovering that the Silent Sanctum could not be subdued with muskets, they quickly signed a treaty and withdrew from the Northlands, turning instead to open the Western front.

“Mm, probably. At that time, I was just a little girl. In the blink of an eye, several years passed, and I never expected the White Ravens to be destroyed.”

“Didn’t you think about going south? I remember the White Calamity has been getting worse each time since years ago.”

“How could I know that back then? I had no friends, no one to give advice. The villagers all fled, so I followed them. Later I met a priest from the Silent Sanctum, and I never went back to that little village.”

Gwen’s eyes grew somewhat distant.

“I don’t know what it’s like there now. Perhaps only ruins remain… but I heard that place later fell under the Empire’s territory, and even had a Candlelight Emblem church built there. Maybe if I hadn’t left, I’d already be an Imperial citizen.”

“Ha! Becoming an Imperial isn’t that simple. The Northlands have never been peaceful since then. Later, the Empress enfeoffed the Frontier Count, and Earl Bazel came here, throwing the entire Northlands into turmoil.” Isaac smirked. “If you went to the White Ravens, there was only that one war. If you were in the Empire, war came every day.”

“But… why? Isn’t the Empire strong? Isn’t their Empress wise? Why are the people still suffering?”